Alec Baldwin Rust Cast ‘Discussed Brandon Lee Killing’ Prior To Halyna Hutchins Fatal Shooting Incident
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An actor who worked on Rust has said he and fellow cast members expressed concerns about gun safety on the set of the film, weeks before the fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins.
Ian A. Hudson, who played an outlaw in the film, described being ‘terrified’ during scenes where firearms were used, claiming that while the camera crew and the camera itself were protected by shields, he was able to feel the blanks and the air from the shotguns as they fired.
Hudson said he felt scenes where ’20 pistols and 2 rifles’ were firing blanks felt ‘life-threatening’, to the point that he and his fellow actors began talking about the fatal shooting of Brandon Lee on a film set in 1993, expressing their concerns that little had changed in terms of gun safety since then.
‘I would talk to my fellow cast members afterwards and we would all agree how intense that was, and how scary and real it was,’ he said. It’s not clear whether any of these concerns were officially raised, and Hudson said he was reluctant to speak out because of his lack of experience.
‘As a new actor I don’t want to cause trouble, [or] make an issue about things, I just want to do as well as I can,’ he said, adding, ‘I held my tongue for a lot of it, but some of the other actors who have worked on a lot more sets than I have… they were double and triple checking our weapons… whether they were cold or hot.’
The New Mexico-based actor filmed his final scene for Rust on October 8 and was not present on set when the incident involving Alec Baldwin occurred, but he told TMZ several cast and crew had observed some safety protocols weren’t being followed when it came to live firearms, including a lack of protection for cast members in the line of fire, and the presence of cast and crew directly behind the camera when weapons were being shot.
However despite criticism of the 24-year-old armorer who handed Baldwin the weapon, Hudson said in his experience, while she was clearly ‘pressed for time’, he thought she was doing a ‘fantastic job’, and heard her being praised by director Joel Souza for her attention to safety.
Authorities are conducting an investigation into the events leading up to Hutchins’ death, with no charges having been filed at this point.
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